


Random Writing Experiments

by NobodyOfConsequence



Category: Uhhh none so far
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:00:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29943480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobodyOfConsequence/pseuds/NobodyOfConsequence
Summary: I write random things sometimes and then they just sit in my Google Docs, but if I'm posting on Ao3 now I might as well.These follow no particular theme, fandom, or set of characters. Sometimes the characters won't even exist outside a particular work, but sometimes they will so feel free to ask.Sometimes these may feel like rip off of movie or TV scenes because I might have been inspired by that scene and decided to see how I'd execute a particular idea, or if I even could, so if you feel like I'm just copying stuff that's probably why.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thinking about that trope where the villain has to swallow their pride and accept the hero's help, or choose to rather die than live in their enemy's debt. Decided to flip the script cause I don't see that often. Meet a protagonist who's forced to swallow her pride and fears, and live to fight another day.

"Grab me hand lass!" He called over the roaring shrieks of fire and tearing metal all around them, his arm extended as far as he could to reach her, his fingers outstretched. 

Her hands ached, her knuckles white as her fingertips held her body weight, using only the shallow groove to save herself from the inferno below. Inferno or not, every other part of her burned, exhausted from the constant exertion and stress over the last 3 days, and very much ready for this all to be over, one way or another. Maybe she'd wake up and it'd be morning, her body wouldn't be burning, her mind wouldn't be racing. She'd wake up still in her bunk surrounded by a crew who more or less hated her, but she'd grown to love, and no one would be dead and no one would have been betrayed, it would all be okay. 

But as she stared into her dear friend-turned-enemy's face, his eyes wide and desperate, the fire below her reflecting in his pupils, his hand outstretched to reach her own, to save her, she knew it was not true. All was not okay, this wasn't a dream. 

"Grab hold! Let me save you!" He cried. 

'Save me' she thought. It was a wonderful thought, but a false hope. She knew that if she allowed herself to be saved by him, he would only capture her, maybe kill her himself or worse, keep her prisoner. A life with the status of prisoner sounded much worse than the fire below, and the temptation to simply let go, surrender herself to death to avoid a worse fate, was prevalent on her mind. 

"I would rather die than live your prisoner." She replied. Though she tried to force her fears down, she sounded much more uncertain than she'd like. Nevertheless, the rapid beating of her heart, the warning bells in her mind, they could not make her falter. She didn't want to die, but she would not be made a prisoner. 

"Then don't! Live me friend." He pleaded. Her eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise. Was he…..seeking to make amends? If so, in what form? A total redemption, or slight mercy? Did he regret all the people he'd sacrificed to get himself here, or just want to make amends with her? And what did that even look like? Would she be his prisoner still, but he'd be kind to her? Would she be truly free? And was that even enough? Was it enough to be sorry for the lives you've stolen? There was only one way to know what the future could look like, she supposed. She was willing to take her chances. 

She pulled herself up, and she grabbed his hand tightly. He pulled her up with ease, to a platform of relative safety, but under the circumstances that was still none at all. Every part of her mind raced as she second guessed her choice, but she shoved it all aside in favor of making good on her choice to see what the future holds. No time for doubts, not now. They just needed to live to fight another day, and that would need to be her only focus for now if she wished to live to see her future. If either of them did, they needed to push aside their uncertainties. They'd need each other. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thinking about online communities and threads, how quick people are to abandon them, and what that means for those of us who have no where else to turn.  
> Also an old YouTube argument got reignited and now I and and my old opponent are suddenly back at it again (at crispy creme) and it's weird to see someone who hated you again, especially when they've moved on to greener pastures only to learn that you never even left

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this case the diner and and hangouts are metaphors for online communities, so there's some things about it that don't make sense unless you look through that lense (why did even the owners of the diner abandon it when it lost popularity, why is there so much talk of community if it's just patrons at a diner, how did it appear so abandoned and decayed in a span of months, how and why did Reese end up staying there ect. things that only make any sense in the illogical realm of cyberspace)
> 
> Also using //this// for italics cause I still don't know what I'm doing

The building was cold and empty when Janis walked in. All life drained from it's walls, the sounds that had once filled it, for better or worse had long abandoned it. Everyone was gone, leaving the deserted remains of the popular hangout to decay and be forgotten. It was a bleak sight. 

Her face twisted into a grimace, she didn't want to come back here. She had many memories here, not all fond, and it was deserted for a reason. Nevertheless, she needed a flier she'd left here, pinned to the bulletin board on the wall. She'd promised to show someone one but only knew of one place where there was sure to be one.

The bulletin board, once full of different announcements, questions, and people's art, an influx of information that meant little could remain on the board for long, was just the same as she'd left it, as though frozen in time. No new information had been here since the day they'd all left. 

Oh that day, that day when everything fell apart, all because of her. //Her// with her stubborn and arrogant attitude. //Her// who didn't know how to pick her fights and instead got caught up in everything. //Her// who had caused //so many// problems, she'd single handedly driven everyone away. 

She looked around the remains of the small diner, bleak and cold and empty, the wind blowing gently through a hole in the glass windows that made up the front wall, where someone had thrown a rock in, making the papers on the wall behind her rustle slightly, and she wondered what it would look like today if //she// had simply given up when she should have and left. Perhaps all would be right with this place, but what's done is done. 

She pulled her flier off the board, the paper making an uncomfortably loud crackle against the quiet as she shoved it in her bag. It was then that she heard it. A small shuffling sound that she wasn't sure she had made.

Her eyes darted around the room, ears keen and alert, scanning for any source of noise, but found none. She began walking, slowly towards the back of the diner, the only place she couldn't see. She was careful to not make any sound as tension filled the air. Peeking around the corner, she found someone curled up in a ball, leaning against the wall and trying to make herself small. 

It was //her.// It was Reese, the one who'd driven everyone away. But what on Earth was she doing here? All tensions fell in favor of a different form of tension, and annoyance. 

"What are you doing here?" Janis asked, making the girl jump to her feet, spinning to face the newcomer to her little domain.

"What are you doing here?" Reese threw back. "You left with everyone else." 

"I needed to grab something, now answer my question." Janis said shortly, not about to let her avoid the question.

She hesitated, as though thinking carefully about what to say next. Reese often did that, which made it all the more infuriating when she got into fights, because you always knew that she'd chosen to. She was so immature, and yet refused to be brushed off, she still had the power to drive everyone away.

"What's it to you why I'm here?" She snarled, avoiding eye contact. She was clearly hiding her reasons for being there, and if it weren't for that Janis may have very well left well enough alone, but curiosity gnawed at her mind, and Reese's constant enigma only added fuel to that fire. 

"Reese, it's been months. Why haven't you left? Are you really //that// sentimental?" She scoffed.

Reese pushed past her, trying to end the conversation, but Janis was never one to give up either. While Reese busied herself with picking up various dishes from the tables, Janis followed her. 

"Reese…..Reese!" She persisted, only to be ignored as Reese kept her eyes glued to the floor, for once laser focused on what she was doing and more than happy to work around her. As Reese reached to gather another stack of dishes, Janis reached out, grabbing her hand and forcing it back to the table, not letting her run away this time. She felt Reese tremble ever so slightly, she was never one for being touched, she almost felt bad for grabbing her like this, but she needed answers. 

Reese slumped over the table, letting her arms brace her fall, but letting every other part of her body drop in defeat. She didn't pull away from Janis, accepting the inevitable, in a way, and defeatedly, she looked up. 

Making eye contact with Janis for the first time, the first thing Janis noticed was that she looked //tired.// Her face was dirty and bruised, her hair was a disaster, and even in her eyes you could see the signs of emotional wear and tear. She looked as though she may cry, but though her eyes betrayed her, her expression was firm. 

"What do you want from me? Just grab whatever you need and go!" She said.

"Not until you tell me why you're here. Everyone is gone Reese, why in the world are you hanging around? //There's nothing here!"//

"Because I don't have anywhere to go!" Reese shot back. Instantly her firm expression melted and her eye contact broke, any semblance of confidence gone. She hadn't intended to say that.

"What do you mean?" Janis said through a small laugh. Surely Reese was exaggerating, nothing more. She'd always been dramatic, it was always all or nothing with her. 

Reese contemplated continuing. Sure it was none of Janis' business, but now that she'd said it, any hope she'd had of not making Janis worry was gone, and she figured she owed her some explanation. 

"I don't have anywhere else to go. This was it, I didn't have anything else." She sighed, sinking down into the booth, Janis followed suit, sitting across from her quietly. 

"When…...when everyone left, they all went new places. They met up with different friends, went to new hangouts, or maybe just want home to their families." She explained. "I don't have any of those. I don't have any other friends, or family, I've been kicked out of more places than I can count, there's nobody." She gestured around the vacant diner. "This was it. When everyone left I didn't have anywhere else to go so I-" 

"Camped out here in hopes that you'd find someplace, or that someone would come back." Janis cut her off. Reese briefly made eye contact with her again before her eyes sunk back to the table. 

"You really haven't left? You've been alone all this time?" Janis asked. Reese nodded softly. 

Janis mulled over her thoughts for a moment. This was insane, this place was fun but was never that tight knit, how could this be the only thing Reese had to hold on to? Reese was many things but she wasn't dumb, surely she knew that this community wouldn't last? How could she really have NOWHERE to go? Surely some place would have her, right? 

More thoughts entered her brain, what was once a storm of questions became a storm of solutions. Maybe they could reignite this hangout? Or Reese could find one of her friends from the community and they could help her? Of course, Reese had never really gotten super close to anyone. She was bold and outgoing, it certainly wasn't for a lack of trying, but nothing ever really clicked for her. And if someone had truly started a friendship with her, then surely they would've come back for her, or she would've gone to them. But no one had. In the months the place had been vacant (well, mostly vacant) no one had ever cared enough to come back, it wasn't that kind of community, and yet it was to Reese. When it's all you have, losing a community even as miniscule and insignificant as this was world shattering. One more thought entered her mind, and this one just might have to do. 

Now Reese and Janis have never gotten along. Janis was opinionated and Reese was tenacious, they could go at it for hours on end and still not be satisfied. What was worse, Reese was so comfortable with it, so smug. Janis had thought it nothing more than arrogance, but if she'd been kicked out of so many places she was running out, perhaps it wasn't arrogance so much as experience, Janis thought briefly. But even before Reese had driven everyone away they'd avoid each other, simply for the well being of the ears of everyone present. But Janis' hatred was melting and well, Reese had never shown to really hate anyone. Any fights she got in she brushed off as though it were routine and a natural part of her life. Janis thought that maybe, just maybe, Reese could come with her. 

She'd found a nice new hangout, and it was much bigger, meaning she could introduce Reese and then literally never see her again, she could go off and be in an entirely different social group. But Reese was capable of throwing most anyplace into turmoil, and that's a power Janis wasn't too keen on introducing into her new social space. But the thought of leaving Reese here alone again was enough to convince her; Reese may be prone to getting in fights and causing trouble, and Janis didn't have to like her, but she didn't deserve to be alone, and Janis had to do something. 

A determined expression spread across Janis' face, causing Reese to harbor a concerned one. "What….what are you doing? What are you thinking?" She asked, slightly alarmed and unsure what this reaction indicates.

Janis rose to her feet suddenly, pushing herself up with the aid of the table. It squeaked under the sudden weight. "Come with me." She said, extending a hand to Reese, a smile sneaking her way onto her face. Sure, she didn't like Reese, but she liked solving problems, so the joy was there still. 

"What? Why? Where?" Reese asked as Janis pulled her up from the booth and started dragging her towards the door. 

"We're going to this new hangout I've been exploring. You're coming too." She said, beginning to push the door open. 

"What?!" Reese pulled her arm out of Janis' grip, backing up and putting a good 5 feet of space between them. "You can't do that! I've messed things up for you enough, I'm not going to do that again." She said decidedly. 

"Well I'm not leaving you here. You can't just sit here alone forever." Janis replied with all the same determination. 

And just like that they were back in one of their battles of the wills, staring each other down with a stubbornness so intense, they could easily be there for hours, just as they'd done so many times before. But the thing few people know about Reese is, she is only stubborn when she's sure she's right. If there's a doubt in her mind, she will falter. If she learns she was wrong, she will admit it, so in many ways she is not the arrogant fool Janis thought, just a certain one. 

However, Reese was not only harboring doubt at this time, but she KNEW that Janis was right. She COULDN'T stay here forever, and as terrified as she was of screwing things up again, there was only one way to know what the future would hold. She needed to accept Janis' help, and it was time to set pride aside and admit that she was wrong. 

She glanced around the empty diner once more, forcing herself to admit that she couldn't be alone anymore, and her eyes dropped to the floor. She sighed, all the tension releasing from her body, and nonverbally admitting complete, and total defeat. Without lifting her head, she glanced up at Janis, who was beaming with pride at having bested Reese at last. It stung, but Janis deserved that victory, Reese thought to herself as she dragged herself towards the door.

Janis pushed open the door and held it open, her smile never leaving her face. Reese shuffled past her, grumbling "Your face is gonna crack if you leave if like that." Only making Janis smile more. 

The light stung, Reese thought. Sure, the windows let in plenty of light, but still there's something very different about being out in it as opposed to only seeing the light streaming through windows. Plus, deeper within the diner there were no windows, and thus, no light. She'd been in the literal and metaphorical dark for so long, the light burned, but it felt oh so warm.

Janis climbed into the driver's seat of a large black truck, and Reese pulled herself up into the passenger's side. She felt weirdly tall, and horribly out of place in what she could only assume to be a relatively new car. She was dirty and banged up and the car was clean and pristine, and she hated it. She hated imposing and she hated feeling like she was ruining things just by her presence, but Janis did not pay the stark contrast between her ride and her passenger any mind as she started up the car. 

Reese propped her elbow against the car door, resting her chin in her hand as Janis drove, music playing quietly from the radio and Janis singing along as though she had not a care in the world. 

Reese didn't understand it. She didn't understand why Janis of all people was being kind to her, going out of her way to be kind to her in fact. It didn't make sense, Janis had hated her, what had changed? 

//Had// it changed? Indeed it had not, Janis still didn't like Reese, but Janis was willing to stick by her anyway, and to Reese, that was //everything.//

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah internet spaces, trauma and abandonment wooooooo the never ending cycle
> 
> EDIT: ok, so the endnote from the last chapter is here too and idk why and I can't get rid of it so uhhh, sorry?

**Author's Note:**

> Did they make it out? I like to think that they did but idk. Is villain guy a pirate or something? Yeah probably, idk. These characters didn't exist until like 3 minutes ago though so don't @ me idk what's going on either
> 
> Just take it lol


End file.
